The Indiana Fever have announced plans for a new $78million, state-of-the-art training center.
It reflects a recent trend for WNBA franchises to have their own dedicated practice facilities, not only maximize the team’s performance, but to also prove an attractive destination for new signings and entice their own players to stay.
For the Fever, keeping their current crop happy will be high on the agenda, given they have the league’s top star in Caitlin Clark and also 2023’s No. 1 draft pick Aliyah Boston.
Those two have helped transform Indiana in recent years, with the franchise making the WNBA playoffs in 2024 for the first time since 2016 and regularly selling out games at home and on the road.
And while the team have their own practice court and training area at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, where both the Fever and NBA‘s Pacers play, they will soon to take things to another level.
Pacers Sports & Entertainment (PS&E) on Thursday released plans to break ground this summer on a new sports performance center for the Fever in the heart of downtown Indianapolis.
Construction of the three-story, 108,000-square-foot complex is expected to begin in August 2025 and it is expected to open before the 2027 WNBA season.
The center will be part of the PS&E campus and connected by skybridge to Gainbridge Fieldhouse, while its amenities will be designed to address the specific needs of female athletes competing at the highest level.
It will feature two regulation-sized courts with natural light, premier strength and conditioning equipment, a yoga and pilates area, a hydration station and a full-service kitchen.
To help players recover and recharge, the facility will offer a spa-like retreat with massage, infrared light therapy, sauna, steam, and heat studios, a float tank and multiple hydrotherapy pools.
The team will also have a private outdoor courtyard and mental performance spaces, while the center will boast a hair and nail salon, childcare space, and podcast and content production studio to support player lifestyles.
With news of the $78m plans shared on social media, many fans credited Rookie of the Year Clark as a major factor behind the upcoming build.
“The Caitlin Clark Center,” one person wrote on X.
“I don’t care what the haters say, this doesn’t happen without Caitlin Clark,” another claimed.
“The house that CC built,” a third suggested.
WNBA legend Lisa Leslie also echoed those thoughts.
“Wow! The impact of (Caitlin Clark) has really been a game changer! Love it,” the three-time WNBA MVP wrote, responding to the news.
Without naming Clark specifically, Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett also acknowledged that the Fever had been at the heart of an ‘unprecedented boom in interest and attention on women’s sports’ in 2024.
“Last year, we experienced an unprecedented boom in interest and attention on women’s sports around the world, led in large part by our very own Indiana Fever,” Hogsett said.
“Indianapolis is proud to see this significant investment from Pacers Sports and Entertainment drive further momentum in women’s basketball in our community and continue to elevate our status as a major league sports city.”